Photo by: Jacksonville Jaguars/ Rick Wilson
them, I just have this crazy fascination with them. I like to go to the aviation museum; I like going to check out the planes and learn as much as I can. I’ll literally sit there and talk with the guy about one specific plane for a solid 30 or 40 minutes before I move on. Downtown is always a good spot. For me personally, I like the quiet as well, so I’ll just go to Navan and hang out too, buy some cheese or something (laughs). I just like walking around the city and observing how much stuff changes. What would you say to young football players in Ottawa who want to follow in your footsteps—what piece of advice would you give them that you think is important for anyone to be successful? I would want them to know that, whatever I happened to have done, is just as possible for anyone who puts their mind to it. You look at people and you see where they are now, but you don’t see the process that they went through to get there. It takes a lot of work, and it’s a lot of trying to do the right thing. Trying to get your grades up, trying to make practise… the little things. Eventually, the stuff compound; it adds up and then it gets to a point where you can reach your goals. I would tell young players in Ottawa that it’s a process, but that it’s 100 percent possible if you just stick to it and put your mind to it.
Since this issue is coming out for the Holidays, what is your favourite Christmas movie – and if you had to listen to one Christmas song, what would it be? I have two favourite Christmas songs: Mr. Grinch is definitely my top on, I love the Mr. Grinch song. The Christmas Song is another good one too, but those are pretty much it. As for movies, I pretty much like them all, including the Grinch. Is there a specific moment from your first NFL game that stands out over the rest? If so, tell us about this moment and what was going on in your head at the time? It’s funny because for my first regular season game, I was playing against the Texans. It was a weird experience because I was practicing against the offensive linemen for the last two months and suddenly, I’m in another uniform and they’re still like “Hey Eli, what’s up, how’s it going?” We would just casually talk right before we start trying to kill each other on the field. That was pretty funny for me. Obviously, coming out with that win was huge for me. That was big…. that was big. What are some of the key things you learned during your time spent playing for UCLA?
Again, I guess it comes down to the compound effect. Every little thing you do adds up. All of the extra time you put in matters for whatever you do, and that can apply to anyone. Whatever craft you’re in to, every second you put into it counts. That was true for me, because looking at all of these guys in college football who got drafted, I definitely wasn’t the most talented. There were guys out there that naturally had so much more to offer, but it was a matter of how much work was I going to put in to get to that level—to eventually make it to where everyone’s making it, to the NFL. It’s always about how much you put into it and it will give back. Can you tell us what the atmosphere is like in the dressing room of an NFL team? It’s good because it’s very positive, you know, for a team that’s trying to get to a divisional championship. Everyone uplifts each other and feeds off of each other’s energy. I think that’s been helping me out a lot in the adjustment and with me trying to make my way through—the support that everyone has for each other. One thing my UCLA coach always said was, “play for each others’ dreams”. I feel like this applies to this league as well.
79 | NOV/DEC 2017